Stalin Mocks Modi’s ‘Double Engine’ Pitch, Says Tamil Nadu Doesn’t Need It
The Tamil Nadu chief minister calls the BJP’s slogan a “dappa” model, arguing that the state and other non-BJP-ruled states have recorded strong growth without Centre–state political alignment.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his repeated pitch for a “double engine” government, saying such a model has no place in the state. Mocking the BJP’s slogan, Stalin called it a “dappa” (tin box) model and said Tamil Nadu does not need it to grow.
Stalin’s remarks came in response to Modi’s comments at an NDA rally in Maduranthakam near Chennai, where the Prime Minister urged voters to elect a state government that works “shoulder to shoulder” with the Centre — a formulation BJP leaders describe as the “double engine” model.
Reacting on social media platform X, Stalin dismissed the argument outright, saying Tamil Nadu’s progress proves that development does not depend on political alignment with the Centre.
“The double engine that the Prime Minister talks about will not run in Tamil Nadu,” Stalin said, adding that the state has achieved “historic growth” despite what he described as obstacles created by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
He also asked Modi to compare economic performance across states, pointing out that several non-BJP-ruled states have recorded strong growth. “Think about it for a moment,” Stalin said. “More than the ‘double engine’ states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar that you talk about, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal — where the ‘double engine’ has not entered — are registering growth.”
Modi, while inaugurating the NDA’s assembly election campaign in Tamil Nadu, had said the state needed to be “freed from the clutches of the DMK” and reiterated his call for a double engine government to drive development.
Stalin accused the BJP of repeatedly acting against Tamil Nadu’s interests and said that attempts to gloss over what he called the party’s “betrayals” would not work.
“Tamil Nadu will not bow to Delhi’s arrogance,” the chief minister said, underlining the DMK’s resistance to what it sees as undue pressure from the Centre ahead of the elections.